It is the year 1970, and it is the last day of semester at Barton Academy, a New England boarding school. Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti), a stubborn, curmudgeonly classics professor at Barton, is assigned supervision work over the Christmas holiday break to take care of five students left on campus due to various reasons. These students are called the holdovers. Among these students is one Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), a notorious troublemaker at Barton. Also staying behind is cafeteria manager Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who has recently lost her son to the Vietnam War.

A few days later, the parents of one of the holdovers arrive and agree to pick up all five students for a ski trip with their parents’ permission. Angus, whose parents are unreachable, is left behind with Paul and Mary. Paul and Angus, both disgruntled, are forced to put up with each other during this festive season in a lonely boarding school, with Mary as a mediator.

The Holdovers is a lovely film. It is the equivalent of a warm blanket and a cup of hot tea during a cold winter. It is heartwarming, yet also bittersweet. The film explores a wide range of subjects, including mental health issues, unfairness in life and society, motivation, parent-child relationships, integrity and many more. Taking on these subjects head-on, director Alexander Payne and writer David Hemingson never shy away from exposing the truth about life and its cruelty but are optimistic about wading through the difficulties. Thanks to well-written and believable characters, the story never felt clichéd despite the familiarity of the setup. I can see the story beats play out before they happen – the curmudgeonly teacher warming up to the student, the troublemaker opening up about his insecurities, etc. However, the interactions between the core characters are engaging, the chemistry between the actors are spell-binding, and the ideas beneath the surface are far from clichés.

At over 2 hours, the film is mostly well-paced, though the film could be trimmed down slightly and be more economical with its dialogue, especially in the first act. Ultimately, the truly magical moments are the ones that happen between Paul and Angus when they are left alone that do not happen until halfway through the film. That being said, I wish there were more of Mary. The most compelling relationship in the film to me is that between Paul and Angus. Mary is often on the sidelines and less integrated in the dynamics between the two.

The Holdovers features three strong performances from its leads. Paul Giamatti is commanding and engaging to watch as the strict and pedantic professor that everyone hates, striking a fine balance between being stringent and soft. Da’Vine Joy Randolph delivered a subtle yet powerful performance as the grieving cafeteria manager Mary, and like I said, I wish there were more of her. A big surprise, however, is learning that this is Dominic Sessa’s debut role in film, and he was absolutely marvelous as the teen rebel Angus Tully. Ranging from mischievous to heartbroken, Sessa moved me just as much as Giamatti did. The film also features a minute long monologue from Sessa that I think is easily one of the strongest performances of the year.

I love the music in the film. Mark Orton’s original score is a 70s-infused modern classic that blends well with the songs in the compilation. The result is a coherent sonic texture that matches its visuals. From the old school production opening titles (even featuring an imagined 70s Miramax logo), to the film jitter effect in the credits, to the artificial film grain and faux scratches throughout the film (the film is shot digitally, though artificially made to look like it was shot on film), the film feels and looks as if it was shot and released from the 70s.

All in all, The Holdovers is a heartwarming yet bittersweet film that explores the bitterness in life and motivates its audience to face it head-on. I highly recommend it.

Author: Chia Jing Heng (andreusjh99)